Hands
by shogi-king
Summary: Five fingers to remind him of the five years that Kuroko spent away from him.
1. The 5 Years

The first time was at Teiko.

He remembered a promise that was held by a pair of heterochromatic eyes. And at first, they thought that it was the promise of love found in a lasting friendship, but little did they know that it was something greater.

They started to keep in touch after graduation and eventually spent so much time around each other in spite of the distance between their prefectures that their friends and teammates insisted that they were a secret couple. His so-called "scary boyfriend" would drop by almost every week after practices to pick them up, and the team would always give knowing looks and raised to each other. Once, they even tried stalking the pair but lost track after they were mislead by the couple, who spotted them merely 5 minutes into their little pursuit. The shadow and emperor never answered any questions or comments regarding their relationship, but that didn't mean that those who suspected anything were incorrect.

"It seems that the only way for us to prevent you from following us-"

"And lingering around my house," Kuroko added.

"-is to confirm that Tetsuya and I are really dating."

Although the couple itself seemed to be unfazed by the reaction, the whole gym probably shook at how loud the team's _"Eh?!"_ was.

That was after the Winter Cup, 6 years ago.

A pair of sky-blue eyes reflected the clouds that he gazed at as he smiled. "It probably doesn't look like it, but I actually can't wait to be in the same school as Akashi-kun again."

Akashi looked down, gracing the phantom with a small smile in return as he sank his fingers into Kuroko's soft locks, fanned out on his lap. "I can't agree any more. Just thinking of spending time in the same place as you 24 hours a day..." he trailed off, playing with his lover's hair, "I'm quite sure that you'll like Kyoto University. After all, their philosophy is all about free spirit. It seemed like something you'd enjoy to be a part of."

"I really would, Akashi-kun."

4 years and 7 months.

5 years back in time was when Kuroko broke his promise.

Although it doesn't mean that he wanted to.

He relived those memories almost every night, but more cursed thoughts and events were etched into his brain, taking the place of the remnants of pleasant promises and dreams that were so close for 3 entire years as the big, muscular men beat him, starved him and drugged him. Those recollections left him waking up with a wet face and reddening wrists every day, for apparently he was thrashing around in his sleep, making the cuffs dig into porcelain flesh. The sky-blue haired boy only understood so little of what these men said, which he identified as English, because he recalled Kagami saying a few lines of his own. But whenever his former teammate said something in his native language, it sounded so interestingly foreign. Sometimes, he would think about his beloved Akashi, too, who would throw in a perfect English sentence every now and then as well. He remembered trying those sentences out every now and then, then the two of them would double over in laughter. But these men, these _beasts_, as he would call them - poisoned and _rot_ his attraction to the language.

Not only did he feel a strong sense of disgust but he was also an outcast, an alien, even, belittled by these men. But at some point in the second year of his "stay", a young Japanese-American man of his age with would come in regularly after the men left during the day and taught him bits and pieces of the language that he so despised. Blue eyes plead, asking the kind man to set him free and tell him where he is, but his petitions went into one ear of the other male and out the other. And on the last day of his lessons with his teacher, he said something strange. Something along the lines of "Please be careful". The young, blue-haired captive wasn't as acquainted with his English's figurative language yet, so he only responded to it with an arched eyebrow and a meek tilt of the head.

One year later, he would discover what his tutor meant, and why he said such a strange line.

He was blindfolded, his wrists bound behind his back with coarse rope. Then, the phantom was transferred into a car that brought him into some sort of building- a hushed one, at that, but in spite of his lack of sight, he could tell that there was a large group of people.

From then on, it was really just a jumble of events. Transferring from a dark room with a cold floor and literally thrown into a different room, now with the hushed voices coming about again, he remembered a beam of light focusing on his body. At first, he didn't see it. He only felt it, for suddenly, his body felt warmth (much to his relief, since he was wearing a rather sheer top). And a loud male's voice projected through a microphone, "Sometimes you see him, sometimes you don't! Here is our newest and biggest pride, Tetsuya Kuroko. He is an oriental with striking and rare blue pearls to see." The blindfold was taken off, and said boy's ears was filled with lewd hoots and whistles. He scanned his surroundings, seeing a sea of black before him, where the crowd was. If Akashi was here, he would've walked out of this place, which seemed to be a hall of some sort- right after a mere glance. "Now, we'll start the bidding, shall we? Do I see a thousand in the far back? Two!"

And it only took so little time for Kuroko to realize that he was being sold.

With that notion, the phantom sixth man tried to get up and run, he really did. He struggled to push away the random men in suits who ran up to him, taking hold of his arms. "Let go of me!" he had yelled through gritted teeth, clenching his fists until crescent-shaped marks were etched into his palms. Maybe learning the foreign language was beneficial, after all. But the men seemed unfazed by his writhing and yelling. The employees on the other side, however, were not.

A new source of light shone forth as the main door was opened. "Excuse me, I will have to- Whoa!" The man dressed in a pressed, white dress shirt and vest called out to an unknown location, demanding them to call the police and manager as quickly as possible before even more burly men in black suits could attack him.

Kuroko did not even witness the chaos before him, lights starting to turn on, people screaming and running before him, for he was too enveloped in his own situation- that is, the need to run. Invisibility was always his best trait, so why couldn't he disappear before their eyes now? Angry tears gushed down his cheeks as he tried to defend himself, his poor self on the floor getting kicked and punched and spat on by the wretched men.

A sudden stop to the beating made Kuroko's tightly closed eyes open. _Why were the men running away?_ The sound of their footsteps resonated on the high platform as they scurried. His blue eyes roamed over the now illuminated room, too distracted to be aware that he was grimacing at the pain on his sides, neck, head, everywhere. A large group of men clad in police uniforms and armed with guns were surrounding the area. And finally, he could see the disgusting faces of all the people who were interested in such an awful, shameless hobby. All of them, he glared at as he sat alone on that platform. Well, almost alone, if it weren't for a familiar face- one of the men who watched over him while he was chained- had come to make a run for him and grab him. The young boy was too numb and dizzy from whatever they had forced into his mouth to fight anymore as he was thrown over the male's shoulder just as they headed for the back door.

However, the man was stopped in the middle of his sprint as a loud bang ensued from behind him, shooting him straight in the arm that held Kuroko. Too weak to hold the boy, the man dropped the helpless sky-blue haired boy, who winced as he rolled over onto his side.

Half-lidded and drained cerulean eyes snapped open as the sound of feet pounding came closer and closer. Kuroko watched at floor-level as polished, black shoes stopped where his head was and a deep voice from the same body called out to the escaping criminal. "Hey, you piece of shit! Get back here!" The shoe closest to the injured male on the floor rotated his way. "Are you o- the fuck?" The police man, Kuroko assumed, knelt down. "Holy shit. Tetsu?!"


	2. Don't Tell Anyone

Kise was practically yelling in Aomine's ear from the other side during their one-on-one.

Their one-on-one_ video chat_, that is.

"Oi, will you calm down, Kise?! I thought that moving to another country would at least preserve the small remains of my hearing ability, yet my ears still fucking hurt after each video call! Damn! You know what?" A tanned hand guided his laptop's mouse into lowering the volume as another yanked the cord of his earphones. "I don't care if my neighbors complain about your loud-ass yelling anymore. I don't want my ears to suffer."

The young police officer in training was too busy scowling at the wailing blond to hear one of the doors in his apartment opening.

"Aominecchi! You're so mean! And here_ I _was hoping that since we haven't seen each other physically for years now, you'd have a very slight change of heart! At least be a little nicer to me, you know?" A pout and pale, crossed arms were directed towards the camera, making Aomine howl in laughter.

The said male was wiping his tears of laughter when a small weight plopped down on his dark, gray couch. "I'm very glad that you two are still in contact with each other. I kind of missed hearing these kinds of conversations between you two."

Upon hearing his voice so suddenly, the taller male practically _jumped _out of his spot and crouched near the window. "Shit, Tetsu! I need to get used to this invisibility thing of yours again." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he sat back down again, scratching cobalt locks. "Say, Kise, the reason why I've been calling you so persistently these past few days was because of, uh... Tetsu. I mean, I found him."

The blond on the screen stared at his own computer, trying to take in what he was seeing. What was that look, though? It wasn't particularly blank, but it was shocked? Sad, even? "...Kurokocchi..." He forced a smile, the white light coming from his laptop making his tears glisten. "We thought that you were gone! Where have you been? The last time that I saw you was what? Three years ago?"

"There's no need to cry, Kise-kun. I'm here now, right?" Comforting cerulean eyes directed a small, reassuring smile at the screen.

Kise nodded, hastily wiping his tears. "Right, sorry, sorry. But, you know, Akashicchi was so worried about you! He's gone mad, Kurokocchi!" The blond said, chuckling. "Always 'Tetsuya this', 'Tetsuya that'! You'll be coming home soon, right?"

"I..." His head of sky-blue hair bowed down. "I ca-"

"Tetsu, you don't have to. Want me to tell him instead?" A deep voice interjected, ruffling the shorter male's hair.

Kuroko simply nodded. As he was in the middle of standing up, he whispered, "Please don't tell Akashi-kun..."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, shooing the younger male away.

* * *

><p>"I honestly don't know why the fuck you're crying." Aomine shifted the laptop as he repositioned himself on his bed, giving a sobbing Kise an unimpressed look.<p>

The blond buried his head in his hands. "But Aominecchi... I just really can't believe that Kurokocchi went through something like that! No one deserves that! Especially not Kurokocchi...!"

"Tch, obviously." A tanned hand idly wrapped the loose cord of his black earphones around its fingers.

"But how come he can't come back here to Japan?"

"Well we- meaning the government or whatever- don't know if he's safe enough to go back. We don't even know if we've caught all of the people involved in that incident. I mean, come on, they're the biggest human trafficking group and they were 'just' supposed to be recovering from what happened 10 years ago. Who knows what will happen to Tetsu if they find him again."

"Then what are they going to do with Kurokocchi?"

"Well my superiors were talking about putting him into like a witness protection protection program. But I told them that I knew him. And obviously, since I'm, like, one of the best in the country-" Kise interrupted him with a snort. "Shut up, you know I am. But anyway, Tetsu was permitted to stay with me and Taiga. He just can't leave the house at all, though, because the media or any of those bastards might find him."

"Mm, okay. I get it now." The model nodded in understanding. "I guess that I'm glad, then, that you and Kagamicchi moved there. If not, then we probably wouldn't have had a chance to know where Kurokocchi is at all! And if your superiors wanted to continue with the witness program thing, doesn't that mean that Kurokocchi would get a new identity and everything?! Or actually, maybe that only happens in movies. Forget that I asked."

"You're stupid, but you're actually right this time," Aomine grinned at the offended face,"I don't know how long that Tetsu has to stay with us until he's free to go, but Captain said something about one to two years."

All of a sudden, there was silence. Aomine looked from his clock to his laptop's screen to see Kise frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that... I hope Akashicchi can hold on."

* * *

><p>Wahh I remember saying that my chapters will become longer but it ended up shorter! But no worries, the next chapter will be longer because it will be a whole year wrapped up in one! Just you wait!<br>As usual, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I appreciate every single one of you who follow my story!


	3. Coloring a King

Joining a community college and becoming a part-time volunteer at the daycare nearby was probably two of the three highlights of being forced to stay for another year in America- the other being the fact that he could stay with his former lights, Aomine and Kagami. But in spite of the fact that he was only about two months into his service, it was truly a joy, he would often think, to be able to spend time with those pure, angelic children.

It was rather interesting to observe the young ones' personalities, too. Some of them even reminded him of the people that he knew back in Japan. There was a child named David who had not a single care in the world for anything other than food(in fact, Kuroko had to warn him not to roll on the floor or obey orders from one of the girls to get snacks). Another was very sports-minded, just like a certain police officer that he knew. He would constantly challenge his peers to biking races, tag, and almost any form of physical activity, wearing the same grin that the tanned male would pull off during their games in the evenings.

At some point during his fourth month of volunteering, he got the opportunity to become an employee in the same daycare that he dedicated himself to. The kind, old ladies trusted him enough to leave him to care for the children by himself for 3 days a week.

And if there was an award for being the most admired teacher of all time, Kuroko would probably win every single time.

The kids loved him, the parents who dropped by would think, for each time they headed home with their sons or daughters, the trip from the door to the car and to their home would only consist of "Mr. Kuroko showed us another picture of his puppy in Japan!" or "Mr. Kuroko read us a new story today!"

But out of all of the memorable fun that he had with his little angelic students, there was one day that he was sure that he would never forget.

Everyone was gathered at the "big circle table", as the students called it, to have two new colors introduced to them- red and yellow. Little hands of all shapes and sizes reached out for the coloring page that Kuroko was distributing. It was a picture of a king in a cape, embellished crown, and fancy robes.

"This color," the blue-haired male had said as he held up a crayon, "is red. Say 'red'."

"Red!" A sea of enthusiasm and sharpened crayons rose.

He smiled warmly at them as he raised the second crayon."And this one is...?"

It was quiet for a moment until a little boy looked up at Kuroko with turquoise eyes. "Yellow." Could it have been that this is how the younger version of Midorima was? Kuroko chuckled to himself as he nodded in approval. The class then followed by screaming the names of the two new colors.

He had given the small batch of students a few minutes to see which parts of the king they would color with the two crayons that they were given. Many surpassed the black, bold lines, others colored the king's face red, and for the most part, they were all able to figure out that crowns were usually colored with a yellow hue. One of the students who sat next to Kuroko gave his king a yellow crown, red hair, and mismatched eyes.

The young teacher broke the silence of concentration in the room as he asked,"Ah, Angelo, why is it that your king has different colored eyes? Does he have any special powers?"

The boy with the king in question hesitated before answering. "Everyone bows to him, that's all."

"Hm, I see. I like it. He looks like my..." he stopped, smiling to himself. "He looks like my best friend."

He hadn't known that everyone at the table was listening until a girl in pigtails named Dianne piped in. "What's his name? Is he in Japan?"

"Yes," Kuroko nodded in her direction, "His real name is Seijuuro," He softly laughed at the expression she wore on her face, horrified to even_try _pronouncing his lover's name. "You can just call him Sei, though. That's what I do, because his name is too long."'

"It is long! 'Nigou' is a gooder name, Mr. Kuroko!"

"I don't really know if I want to call my best friend the same name as my dog..."

* * *

><p>The young teacher ended up going home with a small stack of king coloring pages, all filled and written on by his students. They ended up talking about Akashi until the day ended- the memories they shared at Teiko, their basketball adventures, and all the things that Akashi was talented at doing- which was probably anything that he laid his hands and focus on.<p>

Right before opening the door to the apartment that he shared with Aomine and Kagami, he looked through all of the drawings. The corners of his lips turned upwards as he fondly remembered his students wanting him to keep their drawings. "Show it to Mr. Sei when you go back to Japan!" All of the boys and girls had agreed to this, too.

"I'm ho-"

"KISE, WHY THE FUCK?!"

"Uwah!"

Kagami seemed to have decided to join Aomine in yelling in the living room. "I'M PRETTY STUPID BUT I PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO THAT FAR!"

Kuroko blinked in shock at the sudden ruckus. How could he not have heard this while he stood in front of the door earlier? It was even as if there was a fire coming from Aomine's room, where the couple seemed to be scolding Kise. "Excuse me."

"Oh fuck!" The two yelled in unison as they fell to the ground, clinging onto each other in surprise.

"Please excuse my intrusion. But I would like to notify you that the neighbors might report you if you don't tone your voices down." The shorter male moved in front of the computer screen, blocking any view of the two males. "Hello, Kise-kun."

"Kurokocchi!" Kise wailed, his hands on his cheeks,"I'm so sorry! But please help me! They've been screaming at me since I told them that I accidentally told Momoicchi who told everyone else! And-"

"...everyone knows?"

"Ah, no, not everyone..." Pale fingers reached to scratch at blond locks. "Erm, well everyone except for Akashicchi? I think?"

"Dude, he probably knows by now," Aomine interjected, suddenly sprawled out on the floor while Kagami was seated on the bed,"I mean, he isn't really stupid. I'm pretty sure that some other blabbermouth probably blurted it out. Or maybe he has his sources."

"But, Kurokocchi, why won't you just contact Akashicchi?"

Why didn't he want to contact him? To Kuroko, it was more of: how was he able to resist calling or sending a letter each day?

"I... I don't want him to worry or freak out, Kise-kun. And if I contact him again, it might be harder for me not to fly to Japan as soon as I hear his voice..."

* * *

><p>Remember that "David" kid that was mentioned earlier? I actually knew someone from Kindergarten who did that to get a snack from this girl omg<p>

Anyway, as usual, thank you for reading and giving feedback!


	4. Perfect

Exactly three days after Kuroko's state of being was revealed to the others by Momoi, Kise recieved a text from Akashi.

It read: _Kise, I have been hearing that Tetsuya has been found and you seem to be the source of this knowledge. Where is he?_

And after a long hour of flustering and contemplation, he responded: _Hi Akashicchi! I can't really answer that... I'm sorry! __ヽ（゜ロ゜；）ノ_

Akashi replied very shortly after Kise responded._ You must tell me this instant. _

_I cannot do that, Akashicchi!_

The slim, furrowing eyebrows were an indication that_ maybe_, just maybe the blond was starting to grow some negative feelings in regards to his best friends(the "Generation of Miracles", that is) as his phone started to vibrate in his hand and Akashi's icon, a picture of him and Kuroko when they were at Kise's birthday party 4 years ago, popped up. When did he ever actually get a picture of the phantom's lover by himself? Have they always been glued together like that? The head of blond locks tilted as he pondered shortly over the pictures until he remembered that_the _Akashi Seijuuro(who would literally kill him if he would not pick up) was on the other side of the line.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed the green rectangle on his iPhone to receive the call(and maybe to save his life). "Ah...Akashicchi...?"

"Ryouta." First-name basis, Kise noted. He was probably frustrated. "Why are you denying me of knowledge to know where my own boyfriend is?"

"It's not like that... I just really, _really_ can't tell you!"

"I don't see why you aren't able to tell me." There was a small silence until Akashi questioned,"What is stopping you from letting me know? It seems that even Momoi and Atsushi know."

"I can't reveal anything to you, Akashicchi. I'm really, really sorry! If only I was _allowed_ to, I-"

"I'm sorry," the male in Kyoto cut Kise's sentence short. "'If only you were allowed to'? What are you going on about?"

The copycat bit his lips, tapping his forehead with his palm. "I-it's nothing!"

"Wh-"

"Akashicchi, please call someone else! I am not in a position to tell you where he is, I'm so sorry, please don't kill me! Bye!" With that, Kise's index finger darted to the red button to hang up.

* * *

><p>The next person that the red-haired male contacted two months later was Momoi Satsuki, for it seemed that there was no way to get anything out of Kise, in spite of all the pestering. Midorima simply refused to answer after one conversation regarding the issue, too. But, he now knew better than to call his former teammates regarding Tetsuya, so he agreed to meet with her at a cafe next to the research facility that she worked for part-time in a neighboring prefecture.<p>

After a little small-talk, Momoi eventually cut to the chase, asking how Akashi knew. Sometimes it was nice to speak to someone as perspective as himself. He then revealed that it was Murasakibara who slipped out a few hints when he came by with some new pastries that he learned to make in culinary school.

"Honestly, Mu-kun...!" She pouted, in the middle of sipping on her straw.

"It seems, though, that this whole idea of him leaving was supposed to be a secret from me. Shintarou and Ryouta are avoiding me when I bring anything up that has to do with Tetsuya."

"...you think that Tetsu-kun meant to leave you?"

"Well, from the current situation, yes. Come on, Momoi," Akashi straightened his posture, stirring his coffee,"Tetsuya has been gone for _four years_. I'd assume that he'd be kind enough to notify me or at least contact me before anyone else if he wants to pull off such a thing."

"But, Akashi-kun!" Momoi protested, "I mean, I don't know, but don't you think that you should give Tetsu-kun a chance? You- I mean, we don't even know where he's been, how he was, who he stayed with!" One side of Akashi's lips simply drooped. Was that doubt? "Have you... have you lost faith in Tetsu-kun...?"

"I'm sorry, but as of late, there seems to be no reason for me not to. You know how I feel about Tetsuya, Momoi. Or at least, how I felt. However, he hasn't even given me a call, text, or anything. And I remember the week before he left so well. He would constantly come home late and only messaged me to tell me that he's staying in _other people's houses_. How would that make you feel if you were in my position? Sometimes I wonder..." Akashi trailed off, turning his head to look outside.

"Hm? What were you about to say, Akashi-kun?"

"It's nothing."

_Sometimes I wonder if he really loved me._

* * *

><p>On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, a certain trio consisting of two lights and a shadow were enjoying themselves in a video chat with everyone. That is, Kise, Momoi, Ogiwara, and Murasakibara. All save for Midorima, who was busy with his research, and Akashi.<p>

_Akashi_, who was not invited. All because Kuroko was so, so selfish, only worrying for his own good. Pink lips opened as a small amount of rice was absentmindedly shoved into his mouth with chopsticks, muting the laughter about him as he chewed slowly. Had his lover even eaten yet? He must have been working himself so hard these days. And if the cerulean-haired male had remembered correctly, now would be the year when he would start to be trained even more diligently by his father to manage the business. After all, he was the first-born child. Oh how Kuroko wished that he could spend time with his Sei-kun, eat lunch with him at school, comfort him after a long day, and laugh the laughs that he hadn't before on weekends like this. And what time of day would it now be in Japan? Evening? Was Akashi getting proper rest?

He was awoken from his musings when he realized that it was rather quiet. He looked up from his plate to the laptop screen and then to Aomine and Kagami, who were seated across from him. Why were they staring at him like that?

"Tetsu? Why are you crying?" Aomine gave him a sympathetic look as Kagami handed him a napkin.

Pale, nimble fingers reached up to feel his moist cheeks. He was crying...? "Please excuse me. I just started thinking about Sei-kun and I-" He hiccuped, his eyes shutting in embarrassment to stop his tears from gushing out.

"It's okay, Tetsu-kun!" Momoi said from the laptop, clasping her hands together, "We're here to support you two! Right, guys?"

"Yeah," Aomine said as he sat next to the younger male, patting him a little too hardly on the back to make him lean forward, "Especially Taiga. He's got fucking red and black* colors on his hair. He's pretty much the supporter of all time!" The tanned male roared in laughter as he pointed at the firefighter seated across from him with his chopsticks.

The room was suddenly filled with laughter as the dumbstruck "supporter of all time's" jaw dropped, horrified. "Hey, fuck off, Ahomine! My hair is a part of me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say!"

* * *

><p>The month of May was when a new resume got mailed in to the Akashi Corporation. And as a CEO-in-training, Akashi Seijuuro was appointed to interview the aspirant by his father. He was not given any information to look over, since, after all, he should be able to handle whatever comes at him, or so his father said.<p>

But what need was there to prepare when the redhead immediately recognized the silvery hair of none other than his former teammate at Rakuzan?

His former teammate, who he used to replace Tetsuya...?

_Hm_, Akashi had hummed in his mind as he took calculated steps, passing the male who was facing away from him, waiting for his interviewer. "Chihiro."

"Akashi? I knew you'd be training by now, but I didn't expect you to be interviewing me."

_Would it hurt..._

"Well thanks, it surely is nice to see you, too. I didn't expect _you_ to be a business-type of person, though."

"Well, I need a job, and I think I've got the skills for this, so."

"Perfect."

_...to fill the gap that Tetsuya has left again?_

* * *

><p>*Red and Black- I may be mistaken but "red" is "aka" and "black" is "kuro" in Japanese! So AkaKuro! Get it..? Yes? Therefore, Kagami is the ULTIMATE SHIPPER!<p>

By the way, guys, is there any way to respond to reviews here other than via PMs?

Thank you for reading~!


	5. Weak

_Wake up._

What?

_Wake up._

It's too early for that and I'm tired.

_Wake up._

Akashi's eyes opened at the third time, eyebrows knitted and his red orbs glaring at the ceiling. The only time that he ever gets a reminder to wake up like this are on weekdays at 5 AM or the weekend, if he decides to go overtime at work. But today... what was today? Technically, it was now Sunday. And it was a rather nice Sunday, at that, because according to him, everything was finally in his grasp again.

"Everything in my grasp..." he muttered to himself, turning to face the dark figure sleeping soundly next to him. His eyes softened, the thought of being able to start anew was music to his ears. No longer will he worry about irrelevant people. No longer will he have to feel stupid around his "friends". No longer will he have to be lonely and weak. How did he even get that way in the first place? He was Akashi Seijuuro, after all.

The younger male left the bed cautiously to head to the bathroom, trying not to wake his boyfriend.

But along the way, he was greeted by wretched memories of his weaker self on the walls, the tables, tops of cabinets, and even next to the doorway of the bathroom up ahead. He subconsciously narrowed his eyes at them all, heading to the nearest wastebasket and gingerly taking the pictures out of their frames to toss them out. What need was there to remind himself of his weak self? Why keep remnants of someone that only hindered him and brought him down?

Akashi woke up, again, but now to the scent of old memories. He raised his hand in front of his face, his thumb and index fingers pointed up. A thumb for sight, now an index finger for scent? Hopefully that will be the last of it.

He would have asked to have this scent taken out of his apartment, but it was too irresistible. Would it ever be possible to rid himself of eating his favorite tofu soup? He smiled instead in an attempt to block out the bitter thoughts associated with it and called out for his lover in the kitchen, who eventually came into the room with two bowls of his favorite meal and the apron that Tetsuya used to wear.

"I thought that I'd change it up a bit since we've just been having rice and curry lately, so I hope this is okay," the former phantom of Rakuzan said to the latter, who was seated at the edge of the bed.

"I am certain that it's going to taste wonderfully, Chihiro. Thank you for the meal." Upon having a taste of his partner's cooking, Akashi's shoulders slumped as he stared at the fine china in his hands. Why must it taste so similar as-

"Is there something wrong with it? Is it too spicy? I'm so sorry-"

"No, no," Akashi's pale hand grasped Chihiro's and their eyes met, red ones smiling reassuringly at shiny gray ones, "I was just thinking that I wish I never had the sense of taste. Your culinary abilities are simply outstanding. Truly wonderful, you are, so do not worry."

* * *

><p>A certain teal-haired, young man decided to come to the daycare an hour earlier than expected.<p>

"Good morning, Tetsuya!" One of the elderly ladies waved and approached him from the preparation room, "You're rather early today, I see!"

"Ah, yes, I hope that I'm not interrupting you from your preparation for later, but I just wanted to speak to you about something."

"Why of course, dear! Why don't we take a seat first?"

After they got situated at one of the benches in the yard, Kuroko bashfully smiled at the woman, who reciprocated the gesture with a bright, cheery one. "As you know, my situation has made me stay here in America for around two years. But, you see, I will be permitted to go back in Japan in four weeks. And as much as I would hate to leave such a friendly environment like this- the children especially, I do have to attend to some people and family members back at home. So I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for me to leave in three weeks, since one of my friends suggested that I take my last week here to get my items organized."

The wrinkles on the corners of her eyes expressed her happiness after a soft sigh,"That is more than okay. As sad as I am to hear that someone so likable and kind to our children here will be leaving, I am one-hundred percent in favor of you going back to Japan! This may sound a little overused, but home is really where the heart is, isn't it? I'm sure that the kids will definitely miss you, but we'll send you some letters and pictures!"

"Thank you so much for understanding. I do have a surprise for the kids today before I break the news, though. Would you mind if we have a few guests today?"

"Not a problem, honey! I keep on telling you this, but you're free to do whatever you want during your hours! I trust you, Tetsuya. You are such a great teacher to the students here!"

There was a line of little youngsters in front of the wide doors by the time 9:00 hit on the clock. After waving off the parents, Kuroko and the students did their usual morning routine- talking about what they all had for breakfast, if they had any dreams, and a story of the day about "Mr. Kuroko's" dog, Nigou. Today was very special, though, because it was show-and-tell day.

"Tomorrow, I want you all to bring something that reminds you of your favorite hero!" Their teacher had said the previous day.

And to his surprise, most of the children brought something associated with superheroes, fairies, policemen, and firefighters.

"Would you like to know two of my favorite heroes?"

"Yes!" they screamed excitedly, squirming as they sat on the floor in excitement.

"Okay, let's go outside so that you can see!" He stood from his chair and headed out the front doors, followed by a chattering, ecstatic, and bounding group of 6 to 8 year-olds.

When they turned around the corner of the building to the parking lot, they were greeted by a big, red truck and black car with flaring lights that alternated from blue to red and yellow. The children sprinted to the two men clad in uniform, practically screaming as they were greeted with waves and large smiles.

"Children, please lower the volume of your voices!" Kuroko's gentle voice surprisingly caught their attention, earning him a few moments of stillness. "These are my two best friends; , a police officer, and Kagami, a firefighter. They used to live in Japan, as well."

The three adults smiled fondly at the fascinated faces, mouths gaping and eyes sparkling with interest. "Can we go in the firetruck?!" one of the boys had asked, followed by an overwhelming amount of nods in agreement. And after Kagami had showed them around the inside, showed them some procedures and parts, and taken some pictures, most of the young ones were nearly content. When it was Aomine's turn to show the children around his vehicle, only a handful of students agreed to come close to the police car, for the others feared that they would be brought to jail, which the officer only smiled and laughed heartily at.

After their little show-and-tell time, the three took a short trip to the park next to the daycare to satisfy the children of their requests to see them play basketball. They all sat obediently near the sidelines, the same fascinated look plastered on their face as Aomine and Kagami darted so quickly from one end of the court to another, making their eyes cross from the speed. Sometimes, Kuroko would randomly pop up during the game, misleading the direction of the ball, which confused both the two men (who eventually rolled their eyes once they caught on) and the students.


	6. Tetsuya

The idea of waiting in general was fine for Kuroko, for his personality was that of patience and equanimity. But the thought of _who_ he was waiting for was a different story.

"Kise-kun, is Akashi-kun coming?" The two young adults were waiting in front of the airport, seated on top of the two small suitcases that Kuroko had brought. "I worry that he might have gone into a car accident or is stuck in traffic."

The model was busy chewing on his Hot Cheetos from Aomine and Kagami. The two had remembered that their friend had enjoyed those the last time that they sent a package. "Ah, did I not tell you, Kurokocchi? I must have forgotten..."

"What were you going to tell me?"

"A few hours ago, Akashicchi called to tell me that he wouldn't be able to come. I think that he mentioned something about being busy at work later in the morning, so he probably needs some good rest. But Midorimacchi should be coming in a few minutes! I hope that's okay with you."

"I understand," the teal hair had said, nodding. "I appreciate your time, by the way. It must be really tiring for you to be up so late at night. I know that you've been busy with your own work, too."

Shaking his head and waving a hand, Kise denied. "Don't worry about it, Kurokocchi! I was so excited to come and see you, so there's no way that I would be tired! Enough about me, though. How was your stay with Kagamicchi and Aominecchi?"

"Ah," the younger male smiled with the thought of his two friends in America. "Being around them is really the same, they're still loud and are addicted to basketball. Also, Aomine-kun, for some reason, is still able to obtain his Mai-chan magazines."

After deafening laughter coming from Kise (who many of the people may or may not have glared at after), Kuroko continued to tell about his stories about the two, mainly the times when the landowner came over to their apartment to tell them to shut up, because they_ just wouldn't listen_. After the many tales of the duo upsetting the manager, sky-blue eyes nearly diminished as Kuroko laughed with Kise about his experiences at the daycare the he volunteered at.

Coincidentally enough, a certain green-haired doctor with a lucky item of the day appeared before them when the youngest male of the Generation of Miracles was about to share his experience with the child that resembled Midorima. The two who had been waiting hurriedly took Kuroko's luggage and brought it into the car, for they were both starting to tire out, thanks to the chill that November had so kindly brought upon them as they sat outside while they stood by.

Once they got themselves and the luggage situated in Midorima's car, the said owner of the car turned to Kuroko with a box in his hand. "It's not like I worried or anything, but I got you a phone. I was sure that you'd want to talk to Akashi as soon as possible, so it's already set up for you to use."

A pair of porcelain hands etched with few lightened scars took the box and Kuroko graced his friend a smile. "I can't thank you enough, Midorima-kun. Are you sure that I can accept this?"

"Just take it," the doctor said, swiftly turning around as he pushed his glasses up and aggressively jammed the car keys into the ignition. "I happened to have an extra."

The two in the passengers' seats gave each other a knowing smile. _'What a tsundere,'_ the taller of the pair had mouthed to the other, who nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Akashi was winning. He probably hadn't blinked nor flinched in the past minute as he stared up at his white, now gray ceiling, darkened by the night sky. How long had he been laying idle on his bed? 5,10 minutes?<p>

The last time that the 23-year old male had had this feeling was the day that he discovered of Kuroko's departure. It felt so strange- the last time that he experienced this uneasiness was 5 years ago. And a month prior to this, he felt one of the strongest emotions that he had ever felt in such a long time since then. He wasn't even sure if it was anger. Maybe it was a frustration due to the sadness that had built up in him. But that wasn't any of his business anymore, for he was definitely happy to be in a new relationship with Chihiro Mayuzumi. Someone who _wanted_ to be with him, someone who surely wouldn't leave.

A buzzing noise interrupted his thoughts. Akashi retrieved his phone from under his pillow and simply stared at the phone number and message that illuminated his phone.

**FROM: **0XX-XXX-XXXX

**MESSAGE: **Hello,_ Akashi-kun. _

Sent 2:36

* * *

><p>Thanks to his jet-lag, Kuroko was still awake by the time that Midorima woke up from his rest to go to work at the hospital. He had found Kuroko sitting in silence at the table, seeming to have been staring at his new phone. The taller male was planning on leaving Kuroko in his silence, but the stillness was broken when he failed to close the cabinet quietly.<p>

"Midorima-kun." Sky-blue eyes stared at the other in the kitchen. "Are you about to head to work?"

"Yes, I am." Midorima's glasses glinted under the light coming from the ceiling. "Why are you just sitting there? If you wanted food, you're free to take some, you know."

"It's not that, I'm still rather full from the food that they served at the airplane. I hope that I don't sound unappreciative or anything, but I was just wondering if the phone you gave me was registered properly, though."

"What do you mean? Is there a problem with the phone?"

"Er, I don't really know. It's just that Akashi-kun hasn't answered yet. And usually he wakes up at 5." He reached for his phone and turned on the screen to check the time. "It's now 6, so..."

"It should be working. Maybe he just hasn't read his messages. Or perhaps he refuses to answer since it's an unknown number. Have you told him that it's you who sent the message?"

"No, I haven't." Kuroko stared at the black screen as he pondered over the text that he sent. "I guess that I should have."

"Well it's none of my business, but why don't you visit him today or something? Sleep for a few hours then call Kise to bring you to Akashi's office, if you want. I put everyone's numbers in your contacts, anyway."

* * *

><p>It was nearing 2 o'clock in the afternoon when Akashi finished interviewing Alexander Nakamura, a man of his age who had very recently come from America as well.<p>

"Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Nakamura." Akashi gave one last handshake before they headed into the main lobby of the pristine building, their dress shoes echoing from the impact on the shining marble floor. "I take it that you must be very tired, since you barely came here 11 hours ago."

"To tell you the truth, I am, sir." The Japanese-American nervously scratched his head. "Nevertheless, I do hope that I was able to meet your expectations."

The pair had reached their destination and the applicant was about to head to the doors when a familiar face appeared in front of the glass doors, accompanied with a blond-haired man.

"Kuroko-san...?" The male had questioned.

"Te- wait, you know him?" Akashi turned to the other, his eyebrows raised. _Tetsuya,_ he had thought, _what did I expect? Of course you would surprise me. You always do._

* * *

><p><strong>It's about time that I updated this chapter, isn't it? I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, it was a little hard for me to put my thoughts about this chapter into words. Nevertheless, I hope that this flowed well! And as always, thank you for your support! Hope to hear your thoughts on this story soon ^^<strong>


	7. Alexander, defender of man

Chapter Text

Akashi couldn't help but _overthink._

He had just turned left on a familiar street, one that led to his home. If it weren't for his memory, he probably would have ended up elsewhere, for all he thought of as he drove were those topaz orbs that he hadn't seen in 5 years.

Those topaz orbs, which seemed to be void of expression, but actually spoke more than the one who held them.

The same eyes that saw Akashi at his happiest-

but were also the ones turned away from him without a trace for someone else.

* * *

><p>Two months after Kuroko's reappearance, in which he and Akashi went on dates while going apartment-and-job hunting at the same time, Mayuzumi asked the redhead a question that he was trying not to hear.<p>

"Sei, for how long are you going to keep this up?"

The male seated at the opposite side of the table looked up from his laptop, in the middle of swallowing the last bits of his breakfast. "I'm going to need you to clarify your question, Chihiro."

"You know what I'm talking about, come on. I talk to you about this all the time - or, actually, I _try _to, but you never listen. How long will you be pulling off this thing with Kuroko?"

"I also try to actually answer your question, but you're never content with it. In due time, Chihiro, I will release Tetsuya from my grasp and you will see him hurt, too. Just wait, please?"

"How can you tell me to wait for someone to hurt when I am also in pain, Seijuuro?" His partner once again directed his gaze towards him, almost challenging him to continue. "You look at me as if I'm in the wrong, as if I'm self-pitying myself, but when will you ever think about me instead of _him? _Not once have I heard you tell me that you actually love me, yet when he just suddenly decides to fucking reappear again, you can so easily_'pretend_' to profess your love to him! What is this, Seijuuro? What should I be thinking about all of this?"

"Nothing," Akashi almost snaps back. "We'll talk about this later. I need to go to work, anyway."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Mayuzumi was on his way out of the coffee shop with two trays of coffees to-go when he noticed a familiar face about to head to the Akashi Corp. building across the street.<p>

He called out to the young male with brown locks, who responded by waving and walking back the opposite way to greet Mayuzumi.

"Good morning! I see that you have our coffee again," he noted interestedly, plucking a cup out of the tray. "Thanks."

The silver-haired male nodded in acknowledgement. "I only bought seven today because Mibuchi won't be here today."

"Oh, okay. You should have bought 8 anyway. Don't you know that Kuroko-san will be here today?"

"Will he, now?" Mayuzumi asked, feigning little interest. "Why?"

"I invited him to spend time with me for lunch. I always worry about him, you know." He paused to take a sip from his drink, the silence making the other male itch for more information. "He's a very nice person, but I'm sure that you already know that since you guys are friends." _Friends,_Mayuzumi thought with a slight scowl, _anything but._ "I often fear that he'll get hallucinations again or get tracked down or something. But he just keeps telling me that he's fine. I'm telling you, though, he isn't. I know those people."

"What people?" What happened these past five years? "Did Kuroko join the yakuza or something?"

They had reached the front of the glass doors and headed to the front desk where Mayuzumi would be working. "Wait, you don't know?"

"No, I don't know. Tell me, what are you talking about?"

The 'new' employee raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. He ought to tell Kuroko's friend about it now though, just so that he could make sure that his blue-haired friend was safe. "Well, like, you know how I was raised in America, right? I happened to see Kuroko-san there five years ago."

"He was in America? Why-"

"Wait, there's more, okay? Kuroko-san was there because he got abducted. Man, I thought that his friends would notice, but is he really that ghost-like?" He shook his head in disappointment. "Anyway, there's this group in America that was really well known for their human trafficking, but the police could never find them. But it just happened that they found him here and took him back to America. I only got to meet him after a year that he stayed with them, but he was really messed up by then. I-"

It seemed that in the pair's deep interest towards the subject that was Tetsuya, they had not realized that there was a third party listening in to the conversation."Are you associated with that group, Nakamura?"

"Shouldn't you be working, Seijuuro?" Mayuzumi snapped, trying to make Akashi leave. If he even dared to go to Kuroko...

"You shouldn't be telling me that, Chihiro. Anyway, continue. Were you a part of it?"

The employee shook his head. "I wasn't, but one day, I suddenly received an offer from this person to be a teacher for their business. They said that they were really well known, so I was like 'why not?'. Well it turns out that they were actually one of the people who worked directly under the person managing the trafficking group. And, uh.. yeah. I went to this apartment thing and the same man told me that there was a Japanese person my age there who needed to be taught to be fluent in English in one year, so-"

"...that was Tetsuya?"

"Yeah," he continued rambling,"And if only you saw how he looked when the guy opened the door to his room... oh my goodness, he was just _so_beat up and neglected. One day, he even asked me where he was and I just couldn't answer because the guys told me not to. And sometimes, when they left, I would just let him sleep instead of learn English because they never let him get any rest. They were too busy beating him up. And if it doesn't sound serious enough, I'm pretty sure that I saw a new cut on him every day or something."

Akashi shook his head in doubt. That couldn't have happened. He wouldn't accuse Tetsuya of cheating or anything if he knew. If only he knew. "How come he didn't tell me?"

"I don't know, actually. He always said your name in his sleep, so I figured I would come and see who you were. Plus, I have been wanting to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Kuroko-san is still in danger. Only a small fraction of that trafficking group was arrested." If that hadn't surprised Mayuzumi, who was pretending not to listen anymore, and Akashi, the brown-haired male leaned in closer to them and cautiously said, "If you're wondering, I know this because those people refuse to terminate my contract with them. So really, I'm here to 'look' for Kuroko-san because they haven't found him back in America yet."

* * *

><p><strong>Hi all! Thank you for your patience and I apologize for taking so long to update. I know that this chapter is rather dialogue-heavy, so please wait until the next chapter(which I am also working on right now)! As always, if there is anything that you'd like to see happen later on in the fic, do feel free to tell me and I will consider adding it into the story! Thank you so much!<strong>


	8. Hands

Have you ever thanked your hands?

They help to defend you, allow you to touch things, greet close friends or maybe even a stranger, and hold the things that you want to feel. Sometimes, these body parts that mark the end of your arms can also tell stories. If your hands are calloused, maybe it's because you are one who does heavy labor. If they are cut, maybe something you have encountered has hurt you.

And usually hands are able to permit one to feel whatever is in their reach and tell the difference between what is rough like the road, or what is smooth, like a piece of baked porcelain.

But what Akashi realized is that the one thing that hands are not able to feel is love. Rather, it is the heart.

If anything, he had concluded that what his hands allowed him to feel the most were sadness and bitterness because each hand of his owned 5 markers that let him know how long Tetsuya had been away, and how long Akashi had only spent that time to pity himself rather than actually go and search for his lover. Aside from that, the waving of one's hands indicated more of a sign of farewell as opposed to a greeting to him.

How is it, however, that he is now feeling something more related to love? The word for it, in his opinion, is that he is feeling something more like _relief._ To him, it is very foreign of a feeling, to be relieved by hands.

In spite of that notion, here he is, feeling comfort after seeing delicate hands that told him a story - one of fear, he had guessed, because of the white slashes. Simultaneously, it told one of recovery, seeing that those same hands that faced the challenges of abuse were laying comfortably on his own hand and tapping a steady rhythm with his fingers as he walked with its owner.

"Sei-kun," a chilling, yet lovingly-toned voice broke him out of his trail of thought. "You're thinking of something." It was not a question, but a statement.

"I am." The redhead had affirmed. There was no way to get past someone as equally perceptive as he was.

There was a fair amount of silence that fit comfortably between the two. Yet, Akashi felt compelled to continue.

"Recently, someone told me about the last five years that you've been away." _Straight to the point, _the older of the two had thought in an effort to comfort himself.

Again, the silence took over them. The phantom merely whispered, "Oh." The tapping from Kuroko's fingers had stopped on Akashi's hand.

"I just wanted to know why you didn't tell me about it sooner. It hurts me to know that everyone else knew, except for me."

"I was thinking that you would feel this way if I hadn't told you sooner, but... I don't really know. Something in me stopped me from telling you because I was convinced that you would worry too much. And I knew that at the time, you were still studying, so I didn't want to disrupt you."

That was his Tetsuya, always considerate, but sometimes too much. "There isn't a need to worry about me. You don't know how much I would like for you to live with me. If only I could, Tetsuya." He stopped in his tracks to face his lover and brushed a hand through his soft, powder-blue locks. "If only I could, I would allow it."

"Truthfully, I don't see why not, Sei-kun."

Akashi took a breath. Not only because he was so in love with those blue pools of bright skies, but also because he was trying to calm his heart. It was physically painful to lie to people that cared about him equally as much. "I'd rather have you stay with me once everything is properly finished and organized in my apartment. Do you not enjoy being with Shintaro?"

"It's not that. I actually enjoy being around Takao-kun and Midorima-kun." He assured the older male with a bittersweet smile afterwards. "It's just that I... I want to spend more time with you. If it's about contributing towards paying for the rent, I can help too, since I-"

"No, Tetsuya," Akashi chuckled. "Wait patiently for me, okay? I'll try to sort things out as soon as possible."

_'I don't mean to sound insensitive,' Midorima had disclaimed the day before, reclining on the back of his chair, 'but you're going to have to choose at some point.'_

_'I know.'_

* * *

><p>At the green-haired doctor's household, Kuroko was making an important phone call to a certain model in the guest room.<p>

"Kise-kun, do you know where Akashi-kun lives?"

The youngest of the Miracles could practically hear the blond beaming and nodding enthusiastically. "Yes, Kurokocchi! Why? Do you need a ride there?"

"Ah, I'm okay. I can just bike there if it's nearby."

"Did Akashicchi invite you there? Be-"

"No, he didn't," the blunet had interrupted, "but I just wanted to drop off his gift before his birthday tomorrow. I have a job interview at the local daycare, so."

"Oh... maybe you should ask first, though?"

In response to the suggestion, Kuroko only hummed and pondered shortly as to why he'd have to ask to go to his own lover's residence.

It turned out that he wouldn't have to wait to know the answer.

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since Akashi and Mayuzumi had made up from their recent disagreement. They weren't exactly in the best state yet, but Akashi was willing to make an effort to. Hence, when he had arrived home, he immediately went to his and Mayuzumi's bedroom, where he was sure that his partner would be working on his laptop.<p>

"Chihiro?" he had called out softly, leaning against the doorframe on his shoulder, "I was just kind of thinking about something."

The other male, sitting cross-legged on the bed, closed his laptop and placed it on the nightstand. If Akashi looked so contemplative, he had assumed, it was probably worth his attention. "Oh? What were you thinking about?"

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. Being an Akashi, he didn't want to seem uncertain. "I've just been thinking about how unhappy I've been making you ever since our relationship started. I know that..." He glanced down towards the floor, but regained his composure after a breath. It was harder to talk about these kinds of feelings than he had thought. "I know that you've been waiting for me to fall in love with you, and I'm so grateful to have had someone like you as my partner, but-"

"Is this going where I think it is?" Silvery eyebrows furrowed at Akashi's sudden 'goodbye speech'. Or, at least, that's what he thought it was.

"No, it isn't. What I'm trying to say is that I want to express how much I've appreciated you being there even though... even though you know that I'm still working on rebuilding myself."

"There isn't a need to thank me. I'm just being patient with you because I love you, and you know that. Plus, you telling me this is already plenty." He got up from the bed and touched his lips with the other's. "So thank _you. _I actually really appreciated it."

Later in the morning, when all was better and the couple had 'officially' made up, Akashi was awoken by the smell of his favorite food. However, rather than heading straight to the kitchen, he walked towards the bathroom.

"Hey, happy birthday!" Steel eyes glanced at the redhead, "Aren't you going to eat first?"

"Thanks, I'll be there in a moment," he said, "Just let me shower; I don't feel too clean."

The other chuckled. "Whatever. So dramatic."

The thing with hands is that they can also lead one to consequences. For instance, if your hands touch - or merely _reach_ for something else, chances are that someone will see.

When Akashi had returned to the kitchen from his shower, there was a simple brown bag with white handles sitting next to his seat at the table.

"Chihiro," Akashi started, "I already told you not to buy me anything-"

"Oh, I know. That wasn't from me. I found it on our doorstep when I went to get the mail while you were out. I didn't get to yesterday."

"Ah, I see," he nodded, joining his partner with him at the table to start eating. "Who could it be from?"

The other male shrugged. Suddenly, much to the redhead's concern, his partner suddenly had a worried look on his face. He asked what the problem was and the older of the two muttered, "I... I hope that they didn't hear us last night. Whoever it is."

"...oh," he replied weakly, trying to shake off the feeling of self-consciousness.


	9. The Paper Bag

Kise's car was parked on the side of the road. He was thankful that he had not taken off his bike holder on the back of his car from last weekend; otherwise, he wouldn't have known where to put Kuroko's bicycle.

When it was nearing eleven at night, shortly after his conversation with the younger male on the phone, his phone rang, with Kuroko's caller ID brightening his device. As usual, he was ecstatic to hear that his Kurokocchi actually noticed him.

"Hi, Kurokocchi! What's up?"

"Kise-kun," the soft voice had said. It was as if he was whispering, the volume of his voice even more hushed than it usually was. "I'm sorry to bother you, I know that you may be resting now. But would you mind helping me go back to Midorima-kun's house? I don't think that I can by myself."

The blond immediately ran for his door, swiping the keys from the table on the kitchen counter. "Sure! I'll be right there. Are you and your bike okay? Did it break-"

"No," he interrupted, "I... I'll tell you once you get here. I'm near the mailbox at Akashi-kun's-" There was a sudden pause. Kise thought that he heard a hiccup. "I'm near the mailbox at Akashi-kun's apartment building."

"Okay, see you, Kurokocchi!"

* * *

><p>The model was expecting Kuroko to approach with his usual, tranquil face. He may wave, too, if he felt like it. That's how the phantom was. And much to Kise's joy, the other did wave as Kise rushed to help with his bike.<p>

What he didn't expect, though, was for Kuroko to start crying while the blond was rambling on and on about anything that came to mind.

It wasn't usual, he had thought, to see someone so composed, a living oxymoron of delicate strength, to shatter so openly in front of him. And that's what led them to where they were now, halted near the rails of the highway with the lights of other cars casting shadows on their faces and causing an occasional glistening of Kuroko's tears.

"We need to talk about this, Kurokocchi," he said seriously, handing the boy a tissue. It took the other a while to regain the ability to speak, for he was breathing in shallow intakes of air.

"I'm really s-sorry about this, Kise-kun. I didn't want to be a burden but-"

Honey orbs widened in panic, "No way! You're not a burden! I'm glad that you chose to call me at this time. I want to help you, you know! But... what happened?"

Perhaps Kise had made a mistake by asking, because Kuroko broke down in his seat, shrinking and bowing his head in an effort to hide his face. His fists were tightly gripping the hem of his sweater, clamped around the fabric so hard that it would probably create wrinkles when released. The taller of the two could tell that the youngest was trying to keep quiet, for the sniffling and hiccups were muffled. With everything that had happened to him, he was sure that Kuroko must have had trouble bottling up his feelings. "You can cry, Kurokocchi," he said soothingly, trying not to display his panic by wrapping his arms around the boy, who leaned onto him. "It's okay."

Minutes passed until Kuroko neared a regular breathing pattern and wiped his tears with his sleeve. He inhaled before he started to speak again. "When I went to Akashi-kun's apartment, I initially thought of surprising him. I knew that he didn't want me to go there because he was doing something with his apartment, but that doesn't seem to be the real-" He shook his head and gripped on his sweater even tighter. "That doesn't seem to be the real reason why he wants me away from his apartment."

"What? Why, then?"

"I don't know if it's too much to tell you this, but as I was approaching his door, I suddenly heard yelling or something-"

"What?!" Kise asked for the second time, flustered. "Is Akashicchi okay?!"

"The yell wasn't from him," he said, "it was another voice. And I was going to knock and ask if things were okay, but then I heard Akashi-kun..." Kuroko's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't want to start crying now that he had momentum on what he was saying. "I heard Akashi-kun's voice and..."

"What was he saying?"

"I hope that I'm mistaken, but I'm sure that I heard him say 'Chihiro'. Kise-kun," His watery eyes plead for the man positioned in the driver's seat to find a light in what he was about to say. "I only know one person with that name."

* * *

><p>Akashi had been disappointed when he noticed that Tetsuya hadn't shown up at his office for a week. After two weeks, he started to get curious, but work got the better of him and he got distracted.<p>

Eventually, a month had already passed, the new year had come along, and Tetsuya hadn't called since. Nor did Kise or anyone else, for that matter. And being the new year, there was a set day in Akashi Corp. in which all of the employees would have a cleaning day and get rid of all of the unnecessary paperwork saved in their drawers and file cabinets.

That was the day when Akashi recognized it: a simple, brown paper bag, still crisp and without wrinkles. He recalled it as the mysterious gift that appeared on his doorstep during his birthday at some point. He didn't know when, though, because whoever left it didn't make their presence known to him.

Akashi sat back on his black office chair and took out the contents, which seemed to be a bundle of papers. Upon unwrapping the tissue that was covering it, however, he saw that it was a collection of coloring pages with the same print- notably, they were coloring pages that seemed to be from some sort of English-speaking school, for the names were written in characters different from the ones that he read in his office daily.

What piqued his interest was how the coloring pages, all having the canvas of a king to color in, were all filled with the same things. Red and yellow eyes, a golden crown, and a blue, black, and white outfit to adorn the royal cartoon. This cannot just be a coincidence, he had assumed but not without a small smile appearing on his lips.

It was cute, he thought, to see all of these names in the English alphabet. And clearly, they were written on and colored by children, for there were imperfections, but they were not the imperfections that he despised.

When Akashi reached the last sheet, his heart dropped at the sight.

_"Mr. Kuroko"_, an arrow pointed towards a light blue stick figure next to the king, who was labeled as _"Mr. Kuroko's Best Friend". _

If that hadn't broken his heart enough, he recognized the said stick figure's neat handwriting. In English, it said:

**For: Mr. Nigou**

**From: Mr. Kuroko and his class **

There was a side note in Japanese characters underneath.

**Sei-kun,**

**My students think that your first name is too long, so they all agreed on calling you "Nigou", too. I hope to give you this on your birthday once I come back home. Personally, I think that this is really kind of them, so I hope that you'll like it. They tried their best, so cut them some slack. **(Akashi couldn't help but smirk at that.)

**Happy birthday and I miss you.**

**Kuroko Tetsuya**

Midorima received a surprise visit from Akashi later in the afternoon. Before he could even get to greeting him, the redhead already cut to the chase.

"Where's Tetsuya, Shintaro?"

"You should have called first, Akashi. Kuroko doesn't live here anymore. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"I... no, I don't know," He said slowly. How is it that Tetsuya always does things without Akashi's knowledge these days? "Where does he live? I need to talk to him about something."

* * *

><p>The redhead, with his jacket resting over his pressed white dress shirt, scouted Kuroko's new place to look for the apartment numbered 637.<p>

When he had finally located it, he was sure that he saw a familiar figure entering through the doorway with multiple boxes. He was about to enter until the said person also came out, rather startled.

It turned out to be Alexander Nakamura, who had started to be a translator for his company last year. "Akashi-san!" He bowed curtly. In spite of his normal gesture, the redhead still detected a slight tension between them. "What brings you here?"

"I apologize for intruding, but is Tetsuya here? I was told that he lives here now."

Nakamura hesitated for a moment before he responded. "I, uh, yeah. He was telling me that he was house hunting or something, so I just offered to have him live with me for the time being. I'm just glad that we didn't have to get a moving truck or anything, though. He only had like two big boxes with him, so here I am now."

"Oh?" How close were these two? "Would you happen to know where he is?"

"I... I don't know if it's best to tell you where he is. It's none of my business, but he seemed rather upse-"

"You're right, it is none of your business," he replied coldly. "What happened to what you were saying about keeping an eye on Tetsuya, huh? What if those guys found him?"

"...he's getting us food from Maji Burger four blocks down from here."

"Good. Thank you."

* * *

><p>For once, it was easy to spot Kuroko. He was patiently waiting for his to-go order to arrive near the side of the counter in the fast-food restaurant.<p>

"Tetsuya," Akashi rushed over to Kuroko, who frowned a little upon seeing the other male. "I've been trying to contact you since a month ago. Have you been alright? I got so worried."

"Now isn't really a good time to speak to me, Akashi-kun."

_Akashi-kun? What happened to Sei-kun? _"I-" He halted as Kuroko politely took his bag and vanilla milkshake from the counter and walked towards the exit. "Tetsuya-"

"Please, stop!" Powder-blue colored orbs squeezed shut, and the body that held them shook. "You might be able to, but I really can't do this..."

"What are you talking about? Did I do something to upset you?"

"Did you not see what I left at your door on the night of your birthday?" Tetsuya asked quietly, tears starting to spill out of his eyes.

"I did see it," Akashi nodded, "And I was just going to thank you for it. Is that what this is about?" The shorter male only stared back at him, seeming to be waiting for something.

That's when it clicked.

_"Chihiro," Akashi started, "I already told you not to buy me anything-"_

_"Oh, I know. That wasn't from me. I found it on our doorstep when I went to get the mail while you were out. I didn't get to yesterday."_

_"Ah, I see," he nodded, joining his partner with him at the table to start eating. "Who could it be from?"_

_The other male shrugged. Suddenly, much to the redhead's concern, his partner suddenly had a worried look on his face. He asked what the problem was and the older of the two muttered, "I... I hope that they didn't hear us last night. Whoever it is."_

_"...oh," he replied weakly, trying to shake off the feeling of self-consciousness. _

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I had my reasons."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope that you guys like how I've been updating almost daily these days haha! I'm trying to make up for the month that I missed, so...<strong>

**I'd love to hear of what you think about this and what you'd like to see in the future!**


	10. Signs of a Heart Attack

Nakamura had been watching an American show online when Kuroko returned.

"Ah, Kuroko-san! I thought you'd never come back," he teased, approaching the other male who had been in the middle of taking his shoes off. The latter had kept his head bowed down as he untied his shoelaces with the wrinkled brown paper bag sitting next to him, as silent as the male who was crouched next to it. "Let me help you wi-"

_Hiccup._

"...Kuroko-san?" The younger male knelt before him, worry plastered onto his face. "Kuroko-san, was it-? I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have let Akashi-san know, shouldn't I? I made such a foolish mistake-"

"It's okay," He managed to breathe out, raising a sleeved arm to wipe the tears escaping from his eyes. "Akashi-kun is your superior; you should listen to him."

The two of them stood up with the younger, brown-haired male holding the bag as he led Kuroko into his new room. Although the latter insisted that he couldn't leave his new housemate to eat on his own on their first day of living together, the Japanese-American only shook his head in response. "Please don't force yourself to do anything. If you want, we can just have our celebration dinner tomorrow," he offered. "Besides, I have somewhere to go tonight. If you want to give Kise-san or someone a call to come over so you won't be alone later, though, then by all means, Kuroko-san, don't hold yourself back."

"Nakamura-kun, you're starting to sound like an actual counsellor. Perhaps I'm a good use for therapist training," Blue orbs smiled kindly as Kuroko offered a joke to relieve the other from his tension. "The amount of comfort that you bring whenever I'm troubled is truly immeasurable, you know. So please know that I really appreciate it."

"It's the least I can do... as a friend, Kuroko-san."

* * *

><p><strong>Search: symptoms of a heart attack<strong>

Wrapped up in his white comforter to avoid the cold in his room, Kuroko flicked his thumb up his wet phone screen as his other hand clutched at his shirt. The bright page illuminated his face and dark room as it loaded.

**Signs of a Heart Attack:**

**Chest discomfort or pain This discomfort or pain can feel like a tight ache, pressure, fullness or squeezing in your chest lasting more than a few minutes. This discomfort may come and go.**

_Check. He frowned, recalling that he had been feeling a tight swelling in his heart since he started walking back home from Maji Burger._

**Upper body pain Pain or discomfort may spread beyond your chest to your shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth or jaw. You may have upper body pain with no chest discomfort. **

_ Kind of? No, not really._

**Stomach pain: Pain may extend downward into your abdominal area and may feel like heartburn.**

_Yes, but only because I've been hiccuping from crying._

**Shortness of breath: You may pant for breath or try to take in deep breaths. This often occurs before you develop chest discomfort, or you may not experience any chest discomfort.**

_Yes, but- I only felt that from crying, too._

**Anxiety: You may feel a sense of doom or feel as if you're having a panic attack for no apparent reason.**

_...not really. _

Only one of the signs that he had read so far applied to him wholly - which, in fact, he was thankful for, but what could be the cause of this tightness in his chest?

"Hm. It seems to me that you're showing signs of stress. Well, depression would be a better word," Midorima corrected himself, "but I can't confirm that as of now. Is something going on?"

"I... yes, but it's not a big deal. It's probably only because I only had a vanilla shake toda-"

"You know that isn't enough. Especially for someone who tends to be rather weak like you," He put bluntly. "I don't mean for it to sound rude, but you need to take care of yourself. I mean, not that I'm concerned or anything. Just that the professors enforced that during the time that I was still in med school," the doctor remarked, clearing his throat. "Plus, it's common sense, you know. You're not stupid; even I know that."

Kuroko didn't make any sounds for a while. No affirmations, no disagreements.

"'If there's something going on,'" the blue haired male recited to Kise over the phone, "'then tell someone, because that tightness in your chest is actually quite the warning.' That's what Midorima-kun told me before he had to leave. And so..." Kuroko balled his fist over his lap to fight the tears pushing to escape from his eyes, "I came to a conclusion that it would be best to tell someone that I trust."

"Kurokocchi..."

"You are one of them Kise-kun." There was a moment of hesitation before he continued. "If you think that this will be too much of a burden to you, though, I can always-"

"No! No. I want to listen. I'm here for you, Kurokocchi. I've just been waiting for you to open up to me this whole time." The voice on the other end of the line stay silent, with the occasional sniff and hiccup. "So tell me, what's been on your mind?"

* * *

><p>The male was in awe. For someone who was affiliated with the group that he so unfortunately agreed to work for about eight years ago, the person that he was going to meet sure had quite an unbelievable amount of confidence in himself. The location of the meeting place was well-lit, well-populated, and well-equipped with the stores of brands that he was sure both the American and Japanese upper classes would enjoy themselves in.<p>

But who was he to judge, when this person had earned his riches and managed his people singlehandedly?

Then again, this big-shot businessman was not deserving of his money. Nakamura sat still in his car, contemplating, taking deep breaths. He was not prepared with anything; only with the words that he had learned since he was able to speak. And only the reliance on his assumption and wisp of hope that this multi-millionaire, director of Japan's most-wanted human trafficking...

...would still have feelings, in spite of all that he had done.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I've been considering having my works(the new and old) read over and edited, so if you're someone who'd be willing to put up with my grammatical errors and super-late updates, feel free to let me know if you're interested by commenting or shooting me a message through my Tumblr ask! The link to it should be in my bio :-) Hope you're having a great day!<strong>_


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